Wildlife visible again, so be careful!

[Pepper]

Well it's that time of year again, when we're all glued to the webcams chanting "melt ice, melt"! Meanwhile the earth is warming up and the wildlife are emerging from the woods. Just since monday I've seen six unfortunate furry souls on the side of Route 11 between Gilford and Rochester. Then this evening on the way home we saw a HUGE herd of deer trying to cross Route 11 just before Varney Point Road. Fortunately there was no traffic heading east, and a quick toot of the horn sent them hightailing it back into the woods. There were easily two dozen deer in the herd, and it was quite a sight to see all those white tails bouncing away!

Be careful driving out there! ;)

[dpg]

The things you see when you don't have a gun. :eek: Oh just kidding. :D

[Weirs guy]

I watched 5 full grown turkeys cross Weirs Blvd. by the Chamber of Commerce building the other morning, heading up the hill back home. Must be the same flock (or pack, what is a group of turkeys, oh yeah, my employer..:laugh:) that I see regularly up on White Oaks Rd., I think I recognized the "crossing guard"!

[Argie's Wife]

We've had an otter coming up into our yard to scavenge for ????. I've been surprised to see him, as we have a very small yard and I first thought he might be a weasel or fisher cat. He's been all over the back yard and his tracks are everywhere! (The dog could spend hours sniffing the backyard!)

[Pepper]

An Otter! Oh I am so jealous! Years ago I used to see them in Lake Opeechee, but haven't seen one in at least a decade. They are so amusing to watch! :)

I'll bet the dog is half out of his mind trying to figure out what he's tracking, and where it went! :laugh:

[Lin]

An Otter! Oh I am so jealous! Years ago I used to see them in Lake Opeechee, but haven't seen one in at least a decade. They are so amusing to watch! :)

I'll bet the dog is half out of his mind trying to figure out what he's tracking, and where it went! :laugh:

We've seen otter over by the ledges under the green camp by the big rock in the lake up by Green's Basin for the last few years.

[chipj29]

I watched 5 full grown turkeys cross Weirs Blvd. by the Chamber of Commerce building the other morning, heading up the hill back home. Must be the same flock (or pack, what is a group of turkeys, oh yeah, my employer..:laugh:) that I see regularly up on White Oaks Rd., I think I recognized the "crossing guard"!

Is it a gaggle of turkeys?

[TimmyG]

I drive by Hopkington Lake everyday on my way to Boston. I am seeing signs of ice melting very gradually.

I saw four otters running across the lake ice. I assuming they are out of wherever they go for the winter. I guess it's a good sign. I also saw three deer on the side of 93 southbound in the Tilton area on Saturday.

TG

[Sal]

It's a "rafter" of turkeys.

[Ropetow]

It's a "rafter" of turkeys.

A "rafter"? How many of them were there? How close together were they? Does Marine Patrol know about this???:confused::confused::confused:

[Chickie]

Hi All,

I need help identifying a huge bird I saw on Saturday evening. It was perched atop an oak tree and seemed to have a white head with some white down its breast, as well. My first thought was that it must be an eagle but scrapped that idea when it took off and flew towards me. It actually remained stationary in flight right over my head for several seconds at a time before flying off and then circling back. I thought it was going to swoop down and carry me off! I was able to get a good look at its outstretched wings and underbelly and it had distinct golden colored patterns there. The wing span was huge and was about the size of an eagle. It certainly put on quite a show. It was about an hour before sunset and the sun was shining on it from the west. It may have given the appearance that the head was white while it actually may have been just lighter in color than the rest of its body.

I have done a web search and haven't found a photo which matches it exactly, but I have found something similar in appearance which seems to indicate it was probably a hawk. Have there been sightings of hawks in the area this spring?

Thanks for your help.

[SIKSUKR]

I have a few redtail hawks in my neighborhood and they are very comman.They clearly show brown/redish tail feathers.

[Pepper]

Chickie - perhaps you saw an immature bald or golden eagle. It's also possible that it was a turkey vulture. Could you describe the underside of the wings, or the underside of the tail? This could help identify it more closely.

[hilltopper]

My first guess was turkey vulture also. Did it have "fingers" on the end of it's wings?

Check out the link below (bit too large to post here):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Flying_Turkey_Vulture_with_Wings_Held_Upward.jpg

[Chickie]

It was definitely not a turkey vulture. I have seen those around for several years. I think it must have been a red-tailed hawk, although I did not see any red on the tail. As it hovered over me, I saw the underside of it and it seemed to be a dark brown with patterns of a lighter color which appeared yellow, but it might have been the sun that caused it to look that color. The patterns were probably more on the beige side, with the darker background.

What was spectacular was that it plunged from the top of the oak tree, landing like a rock with a splash in the nearby brook. As the brook is shallow it was certainly not over its head and just stood in the water for a minute or so before starting to flap its wings. I had expected to see it take flight right away with a fish in tow, but it stayed in the water for 3 or 4 minutes, apparently bathing. When it finally took off, it headed towards the west and I thought I had seen the last of it, but it circled around, coming back to perch in the same oak tree. A motorist with a camera apparently had seen it and stopped to take photos. He spooked the bird and it was at that point that it headed my way and circled around over my head several times. All I could see at that point was the underside of it.

As I said before, it sure put on quite a show.

[donnamatrix]

Sounds to me like an osprey. They have white head/breast with what seems like a dark "mask" over their eyes, like the Lone Ranger. They are very large birds, and there are several nesting pairs in the area. There is actually a webcam put up by PSNH (http://www.psnh.com/Osprey/default.asp) that has excellent photos of the birds, and if you move down the page you can click on the live feed.

[hilltopper]

Sounds to me like an osprey.I think we may have a winner here!

[SIKSUKR]

I think osprey would be right.

[fatlazyless]

Seeing many more deer down the end of Meredith Neck than ever before. Used to be the large swampy area was a popular autumn deer hunting spot and now it's posted with no hunting signs every 50". From Camp Menotomy to Gypsy Camp, there's lots of deer. Routinely slowing way down in the car knowing the deer are present on the road is standard.

Is it accurate to assume that deer will also bring deer ticks and Lyme disease?:eek:

[hilltopper]

Is it accurate to assume that deer will also bring deer ticks and Lyme disease?:eek:

100% accurate. Just don't tell the anti-hunting crowd that... :rolleye1: